Australian swimming champion Grant Hackett has responded to his former coach’s comments comparing him to drug cheat Sun Yang.

Two competitors have now refused to share the podium with Sun Yang due to pending allegations of drug cheating.

Earlier this year, Sun Yang allegedly smashed vials of blood samples with a hammer in front of anti-doping testers following an out-of-competition test.

In 2014, Sun was banned for three months by the Chinese Swimming Association after testing positive to a stimulant, which had been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list four months earlier.

Denis Cotterell, the Australian coach of Sun Yang, hit out at the recent protests, calling them hypocritical and claiming the Chinese swimmer is as clean as Grant Hackett.

But Grant Hackett tells Ben Fordham he doesn’t agree with his former coach.

“For me, would I probably call myself cleaner than Sun? Absolutely, because I’ve never, ever failed a drug test in my life and I’ve had hundreds.

“My track record in comparison to Sun’s is very, very different.”

But he does believe his former coach genuinely believes Sun isn’t a drug cheat.

“I’ve known Denis for most of my life… I know if he was privy to anything going on he would tell the appropriate authorities about it and remove himself from the situation.

“Denis is a very passionate guy and he feels like Sun’s doing everything right.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Getty / Darrian Traynor